Lifting device and method for gloves stacking

ABSTRACT

A glove stacking apparatus for preparing a stack of gloves prior to packing into a box, and a method of stacking gloves using a glove stacking apparatus for preparing a stack of gloves prior to packing into a box, particularly ambidextrous disposable hygienic gloves are disclosed. A glove stacking apparatus for lifting and depositing gloves to be stacked comprises a lifting means for lifting each of the gloves. The lifting means includes an attractive glove lifting surface, wherein the lifting means includes within the lifting surface a movable member, the movable member being movable from a first position in which the movable member is substantially flush with the lifting surface to a second position in which the movable member stands proud of the lifting surface in order to help dislodge the lifted glove from the lifting surface. The movable member has a surface that is permeable to air flow through the surface, the glove lifting means including a source of positive air pressure and means to control the application of said positive air pressure through the permeable surface of the movable member in order to control the dislodging of the lifted glove from the glove lifting surface.

BACKGROUND

a. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a glove stacking apparatus forpreparing a stack of gloves prior to packing into a box, and to a methodof stacking gloves using a glove stacking apparatus for preparing astack of gloves prior to packing into a box, particularly ambidextrousdisposable hygienic gloves.

b. Related Art

The control of infection of patients in hospitals, clinics, and doctors'surgeries has become an ever more pressing concern with the rise ofinfectious bacteria resistant to multiple antibiotics, in particularmethicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and Clostridiumdifficile (C. difficile). In the United Kingdom alone there are thoughtto be about 5,000 deaths a year from infections caught in hospitals butsome experts believe the number could be as high as 20,000.

Disposable medical gloves can help prevent cross-contamination, but aproblem arises if external parts of the glove touch the same areas of adispensing container as have previously been touched by hands which arecontaminated with harmful micro-organisms. Such external parts of thegloves can then become contaminated prior to contact with a patient, ifthese external parts are the fingers or palm area of the glove thelikelihood of a patient being contaminated is dramatically increased.

Most gloves used in hospitals and clinics are examination gloves, andthese are used in large numbers. Such gloves are supplied not inindividual sterile packages, but in relatively inexpensive cardboarddispensing boxes. The size of boxed gloves is an issue owing to the needto minimise the space needed to store gloves, or the size of dispensingapparatus holding boxed gloves.

Because of the need to enhance infection control, the preferred methodof dispensing these gloves is by the cuff, so that the user can onlyremove the gloves from the container by the cuffs rather than by theglove fingers. Examples of cuff first glove dispensing systems aredisclosed in GB 2449087, GB 2457450 and GB 2454753. Gloves are packed inan inexpensive box, made from card material and having a removable coverover an opening, with each glove either packed flat or folded over onitself and with the cuff of each glove being presented towards theopening.

Although such cuff first glove dispensing systems are helpful incontrolling contamination of the finger portions of each glove duringdispensing and donning of each glove, a problem arises in how to packthe maximum number of gloves in each box for increased economy. Althoughit is possible to arrange gloves into a stack by hand, this is timeconsuming and relatively expensive in a production environment.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus andmethod for stacking gloves prior to packing in a dispensing box. It isalso an object of the present invention to reduce the packing volume ofboxed gloves.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to the invention, there is provided a glove stacking apparatusfor lifting and depositing gloves to be stacked, comprising a liftingmeans for lifting each of said gloves, said lifting means including anattractive glove lifting surface, wherein the lifting means includeswithin the lifting surface a movable member, the movable member beingmovable from a first position in which the movable member issubstantially flush with the lifting surface to a second position inwhich the movable member stands proud of the lifting surface in order tohelp dislodge said lifted glove from the lifting surface, and themovable member has a surface that is permeable to air flow through saidsurface, the glove lifting means including a source of positive airpressure and means to control the application of said positive airpressure through said permeable surface of the movable member in orderto control the dislodging of said lifted glove from the glove liftingsurface.

Also according to the invention there is provided a method of liftingand depositing gloves to be stacked using a glove stacking apparatusincluding an attractive glove lifting surface with a glove liftingportion, and a movable member within the lifting surface, the movablemember having a surface that is permeable to air flow through saidsurface, the method comprising the steps of:

moving the lifting surface so that the lifting surface is above a gloveto be lifted;

with the movable member in a first position in which the movable memberis substantially flush with the lifting surface, using the attractiveglove lifting surface to pull said glove to the lifting portion;

moving the lifting surface to a location where gloves are to be stacked;

releasing the glove from the attractive glove lifting surface;

moving the movable member to a second position in which the movablemember stands proud of the lifting surface in order to help dislodgesaid lifted glove from the lifting surface;

applying a positive air pressure through said permeable surface of themovable member in order to control the dislodging of said lifted glovefrom the glove lifting surface; and

depositing said dislodged glove at said location and repeating thepreceding steps to form said stack of gloves.

The attractive lifting surface and movable member may be part of a gloveplacement means, for example including also actuators for controllingthe movement of the lifting surface.

The glove lifting surface may have a permeable glove lifting portion.With the movable member in a first position in which the movable memberis substantially flush with the lifting surface, a vacuum pressure isthen applied through the permeable glove lifting portion to pull saidglove to the lifting portion. The lifting surface is then moved to alocation where gloves are to be stacked, following which the glove isreleased from the attractive glove lifting surface by releasing thevacuum pressure.

The movable member may, for example, be a downwardly acting piston

The movable member is preferably moved to said second position aftersaid positive air pressure is applied through said permeable surface ofthe movable member. The application of the positive air pressure throughthe permeable surface of the movable member serves, in use, to press aportion of the deposited glove against the glove stack prior tocompression of the stack by the movable member.

Also according to the invention, there is provided a glove stackingapparatus for forming a stack of gloves, comprising:

a glove placement means for depositing gloves one of top of another forforming said stack of gloves, the glove placement means including alifting surface with a attractive glove lifting portion and a movablemember within the lifting surface, the movable member being movable froma first position in which the movable member is substantially flush withthe lifting surface to a second position in which the movable memberstands proud of the lifting surface in order to help dislodge saidlifted glove from the lifting surface;

a packing recess for receiving said gloves and for containing said stackas the stack is being formed, the packing recess having a downwardlymovable floor; and

means for moving the floor downwardly so that the stack of glovescontinues to be retained within the recess as gloves are added to thestack;

wherein the movable member is arranged, in use, to compress the stack ofgloves within the recess after each glove is deposited.

Preferably, the compression of the stack of gloves by the movable memberprovides a motive force for the means for moving the floor downwardly.

The means for moving the floor downwardly may, in use, be activated tomove downwards by pressure from the movable member compressing the stackof gloves.

The means for moving the floor downwardly may comprise an upwardlyacting spring mechanism, the floor being supported by this springmechanism. The spring mechanism may provide an upwards restoring forceagainst the compression of the stack of gloves by the movable member.The spring mechanism may also be compressible to lower the level of thefloor when the stack of gloves is compressed by the movable member, thiscompression of the spring mechanism serving, in use, to limit acompression force on the stack of glove by the movable member.

The invention further provides a method of forming a stack of glovesusing a glove stacking apparatus comprising a glove placement meanshaving a attractive lifting surface, a movable member within the liftingsurface, the movable member being movable from a first position in whichthe movable member is substantially flush with the lifting surface to asecond position in which the movable member stands proud of the liftingsurface and a packing recess, said recess having a downwardly movablefloor, the method comprising the steps of:

using the attractive lifting surface of the glove placement means tolift and deposit gloves one on top of another to form said stack ofgloves within the recess;

prior to depositing said gloves moving the movable member from saidfirst position to said second position in order to help dislodge saidgloves from said attractive lifting surface;

moving the floor downwardly as the stack of gloves is formed in order toretain the stack of gloves within the recess as gloves are added to thestack; and

using the movable member to compress air out of the stack of glovesafter depositing each glove on said stack.

The glove placement means may be used in an apparatus for stackinggloves in a stack which comprises at least one conveyor for transportingsaid gloves to be stacked, a sensing means for sensing the presence ofsaid transported gloves on said conveyor, a processing means, a stackingstation and a glove placement means for moving said transported glovesfrom said glove conveyor to form said stack at the stacking station,wherein:

the glove placement means includes a lifting and depositing portion forlifting each of said gloves to be moved from said conveyor and fordepositing each of said lifting gloves at the stacking station; and

the processing means is connected to the sensing means and to the gloveplacement means for controlling the operation of the glove placementmeans in accordance with said sensed presence so that, in use, thelifting and depositing portion of the glove placement means lifts glovesfrom said conveyor and deposits said gloves to form said stack.

The sensing means may sense additionally the orientation of a cuffportion and/or thumb portion of each of the transported gloves on theconveyor, and the processing means may be arranged to control theoperation of the glove placement means in accordance with the sensedorientation so that, in use, the lifting and depositing portion of theglove placement means lifts gloves from the conveyor and deposits thegloves to form the stack with the cuff portion and/or the thumb portionof each glove in a desired orientation with respect to other gloves inthe stack.

The apparatus may comprise additionally a pneumatic system, thepneumatic system being arranged to apply a vacuum to the lifted glove inorder to adhere the lifted glove to the lifting portion.

Preferably, the apparatus comprises means to de-adhere the lifted glovefor depositing at the stacking station.

For example, the pneumatic system may be arranged to apply a positiveair pressure to the lifted glove in order to de-adhere the lifted glovefor depositing at the stacking station.

The processing means may be connected to the pneumatic system forcontrolling the operation of the pneumatic system during the lifting anddepositing of the gloves.

The packing station may comprise a recess in a work surface forcontaining the stack of gloves as gloves are deposited at the packingstation.

In preferred embodiments of the invention, the lifting and depositingportion includes a lifting surface against which in use the gloves areheld when moved and positioned by the apparatus prior to depositing forstacking.

The lifting and depositing means may include within the lifting surfacea movable member, for example a downwardly acting piston. The movablemember may be movable from a first position in which the movable memberis substantially flush with the lifting surface to a second position inwhich the movable member stands proud of the lifting surface in order tohelp dislodge the lifted glove from the lifting surface prior todepositing for stacking.

The glove placement means may be used in a method of stacking gloves ina stack using a glove stacking apparatus that comprises at least oneconveyor, a sensing means, a processing means, a stacking station, aglove placement means, the method comprising the steps of:

using said conveyor to transport said gloves to be stacked;

using said sensing means to sense the presence of said transportedgloves on said conveyor;

using the glove placement means to move said transported gloves fromsaid glove conveyor to form said stack at the stacking station;

wherein the processing means is connected to the sensing means and tothe glove placement means for controlling the operation of the gloveplacement means in accordance with said sensed presence so that theglove placement means lifts gloves from said glove conveyor and depositssaid gloves to form said stack.

When the glove placement means includes a lifting and depositingportion, this may be used to lift each of the gloves to be moved fromthe conveyor and to deposit each of the lifted gloves at the stackingstation.

The glove placement means may also be used in an apparatus for stackingambidextrous gloves in a stack with the thumbs of each glove in adesired orientation with respect to each other, at least two gloveconveyors for transporting said gloves to be stacked, a glove transfermeans, and a glove placement means for moving said transported glovesfrom said glove conveyors to form said stack, wherein:

said conveyors includes a first conveying means and a second conveyingmeans, the first conveying means leading to the second conveying meansand the glove transfer means being operable to transfer said transportedgloves from the first conveying means to the second conveying means;

each glove has either a left handed orientation or a right handedorientation from the perspective of the glove placement means whenremoving said gloves from said conveyors;

the second conveying means is arranged to convey said transferred glovessuch that the handedness of each of said gloves transferred to thesecond conveying means is reversed from a left handed orientation to aright handed orientation or alternatively from a right handedorientation to a left handed orientation as the second conveying meanstransports said gloves; and

the glove placement means is operable to move gloves from either of thefirst or second conveying means depending on a desired handedness of thenext glove to be stacked.

There may be at least two conveyors which are part of a glove transportmeans for transporting gloves to be stacked and apparatus comprisesadditionally a sensing means for sensing the orientation of transportedgloves, and also a processing means. The sensing means is arranged tosense the orientation of the transported gloves prior to the transfermeans. The processing means is connected to the sensing means and isarranged to determine from the sensed orientation the handedness of thetransported gloves, this handedness being either a left handedorientation of the glove thumb or alternatively a right handedorientation the glove thumb from the perspective of the sensing means.The processing means is then operable to determine the desiredhandedness of each of said gloves to be moved by the glove transportmeans and is connected to the glove transfer means, and is operable touse the glove transfer means to transfer the transported gloves from thefirst conveying means to the second conveying means to reverse thehandedness of a glove when the sensed handedness is not the desiredhandedness. The glove placement means is operable to move gloves fromthe second conveying means when the sensed handedness is not the desiredhandedness or alternatively to move gloves from another one of theconveying means when the sensed handedness is the desired handedness.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the gloves are transportedand manipulated individually by the glove placement means.

The first conveying means is in a preferred embodiment of the inventiona single continuous conveyor. It would, however, be possible to form thefirst conveying means from a series of consecutive conveyors, onepassing gloves to the next conveyor in the series.

The first conveying means is preferably arranged to transport the glovesin a first direction of travel towards the glove transfer means and thesecond conveying means is preferably arranged to rotate the orientationof the transferred gloves about an axis transverse to the firstdirection so that said rotated transferred gloves travel in a seconddirection opposite the first direction.

The second conveying means may be a belt conveyor arranged in a loop.The second conveying means is arranged to convey the transferred glovesaround at least a portion of the loop in order to change the handednessof each of said transferred gloves.

The rotation of the glove is then effected by the movement of thetransferred glove from one side of the loop to an opposite side of theloop.

The first conveying means may be arranged to transport gloves along afirst direction of travel towards a transfer portion of the firstconveying means, this transfer portion being proximate the secondconveying means.

The sensing means may be arranged to sense the orientation of each glovewith respect to a first direction of travel as transported by the firstconveying means.

The first conveying means and second conveying means are preferably bothbelt conveyors, each having portions in juxtaposition in a glovetransfer region where the glove transfer means acts to transfer thegloves from the first belt conveyor to the second belt conveyor when thehandedness of the glove needs to be changed prior to stacking.

The processing means may be connected to the glove placement means andmay also be arranged to control the operation of the glove placementmeans in the movement of the gloves by the glove placement means awayfrom the conveyors.

In preferred embodiments of the invention, the glove placement meansincludes a glove manipulator that comprises a lifting portion forlifting each of the moved gloves from the first and second conveyingmeans. The lifting portion preferably also serves to deposit the gloveat a stacking station, in which case the lifting portion is a liftingand depositing portion of the glove manipulator.

The glove manipulator may include an electrostatic generator forapplying an electrostatic charge to the lifted glove in order to adherethis glove to the lifting and depositing portion. The glove manipulatormay, however, comprise additionally or alternatively a pneumatic systemfor sucking the glove to the lifting and depositing portion andpreferably also for depositing the glove.

In preferred embodiments of the invention, the lifting portion of theglove manipulator is an underside or lowermost portion of the glovemanipulator.

The lifting and depositing portion may comprise means for depositingeach lifted glove, for example when moved into position with a stack ofgloves built up during previous cycles of lifting and depositing gloves.

In preferred embodiments of the invention, the glove manipulatorcomprises means for rotating the lifted glove about an axis, which willmost commonly be a vertical axis, parallel with a stacking axis of thedeposited gloves.

When the glove is in position for depositing, the glove may then bedropped on top of a stack of gloves being built up by the glove stackingapparatus. Together with the flipping of gloves by the transferinteraction between the first and second conveying means, the facilityto rotate a lifted glove about a vertical axis enables the apparatus toposition each glove in a desired orientation. In particular, theinvention permits control of the orientation of both the thumb and thecuff of each glove deposited in the stack. For example, each depositedglove can be oriented in the same manner, for example with cuffs andthumbs of adjacent gloves all similarly oriented, or in alternateorientations, for example, interfolded so that a glove dispensed from adispensing container serves to pull partially out from the dispenser thenext glove to be dispensed.

The first and second conveying means may be belt conveyors, each glovebeing held conformally against the second and/or first conveys andagainst a lifting surface of the lifting portion as the gloves are movedand positioned by the apparatus prior to depositing for stacking.Ideally the gloves are flattened with fingers and thumb being splayedapart in order to compact the volume of the stacked gloves as far aspracticable.

The glove transfer means may comprise an electrostatic generator forapplying an electrostatic charge to the transferred glove in order toadhere said transferred glove electrostaticly to the second conveyorloop. The glove transfer means may, however, comprise eitheradditionally or alternatively, a vacuum pneumatic system fortransferring gloves to the second conveyor loop.

The glove placement means may be used in a method of stacking gloves ina desired orientation with respect to each other, comprising the stepsof:

using a glove transport means comprising a first conveying means and asecond conveying means such that gloves are transported along said firstconveying means towards said second conveying means;

using a sensing apparatus to sense the orientation of each of saidtransported gloves transported by the first conveying means;

using a processor to determine from said sensed orientation whether ornot the sensed orientation of said glove is in a desired orientation forremoval from the first conveying means prior to stacking of said glove;

using a glove transfer means to transfer said transported gloves fromthe first conveying means to the second conveying means when said sensedorientation is not a desired orientation;

using the second conveying means to transport said transferred gloves;

wherein said transfer and subsequent transport of said gloves by thesecond conveying means has the effect of changing the orientation ofsaid gloves to a desired orientation for removal from the secondconveying means prior to stacking of said glove.

If the sensed orientation of a glove transported by the first conveyingmeans is correct, then the glove is removed from the first conveyingmeans for stacking in a stack of gloves. On the other hand, if thesensed orientation of a glove transported by the first conveying meansis incorrect, then a glove transfer means is used to transfer the glovefrom the first conveying means to the transporting surface of the secondconveying means.

In preferred embodiment of the invention, the first conveying meanstransports gloves in a first direction, the second conveying meanshaving a transporting surface in opposition to the first conveying meansand moving in the same first direction of travel as the first conveyingmeans.

The sensing apparatus may then sense the orientation of each transportedglove with respect to this first direction of travel.

The transporting surface of the second conveying means may be moved in aloop so that this transporting surface transports the transferred glovesin a second direction opposite to the first direction so that theorientation of transferred gloves transported by the transportingsurface is transformed into a desired orientation for stacking.

The glove placement means may be also be used in an apparatus having aglove transport means for handling gloves to be stacked, comprising atleast two glove conveyors for transporting said gloves and a glovetransfer means, said conveyors including a first conveyor and a secondconveyor, the first conveyor leading to the second conveyor and theglove transfer means being operable to transfer said transported glovesfrom the first conveyor to the second conveyor, the second conveyorhaving a conveying surface, a glove transfer portion of said surfacebeing permeable to air flow through said surface, wherein the glovetransfer means includes a source of vacuum air pressure and means tocontrol the application of said vacuum air pressure through saidpermeable glove transfer portion of said conveying surface in order tocontrol the transfer of gloves from the first conveyor to the secondconveyor.

The second conveyor may include a roller around which said conveyingsurface passes, the roller including at least one air flow channel andthe vacuum air supply being applied to said permeable glove transferportion through said at least one air flow channel.

The least one channel may include an array of perforations in an outersurface of the roller.

The conveying surface is preferably a mesh, said mesh being permeable tothe air flow.

The glove placement means may include an apparatus for manipulatinggloves presented flat for stacking by a transporting surface, comprisinga glove manipulator comprising a lifting portion, said lifting portionhaving a downwardly directed surface for lifting each of said movedgloves from said transporting surface, and a means for attracting saidlifted glove to said downwardly directed surface in order to hold saidlifted glove to said downwardly directed surface of the lifting portionas gloves are manipulated for stacking.

In one embodiment of the invention, the means for attracting a liftedglove to the downwardly directed surface comprises an electrostaticgenerator for applying an electrostatic charge to a lifted glove inorder to adhere the lifted glove to the downwardly directed surface ofthe lifting portion.

In another embodiment of the invention, the means for attracting alifted glove to the downwardly directed surface comprises a pneumaticsystem for applying a vacuum to a lifted glove in order to adhere thelifted glove to the downwardly directed surface of the lifting portion.

In one embodiment of the invention, the glove placement means comprisesa ground plate to which the electrostatically charged glove isattracted. In one embodiment, the apparatus includes a plurality ofinsulating strands strung over and separated from the ground plate, thestrands serving in use to support and separate the electrostaticallycharged glove from the ground plate. In another embodiment, theinvention comprises an insulating plate, the insulating plate having aplurality of perforations through which the electrostatically chargedglove is attracted to the ground plate, the insulating plate serving inuse supporting and separating the electrostatically charged glove fromthe ground plate.

Preferably, the lifting portion has means for discharging theelectrostatic charge on the glove prior to said depositing of the glove.Once the electrostatic charge has been discharged, the glove will eitherfall from the lifting portion or can be readily assisted to fall, forexample with a puff of compressed air applied to the interface betweenthe lifting and depositing portion and the glove.

The lifting and depositing portion may have means for increasing theseparation between the charged glove and the ground plate in order tolessen the electrostatic attraction between the glove and the groundplate prior to dropping the glove for stacking. These means may includeone or more pins that project downwards of the lifting means, mostpreferably in areas not covered over by lifted gloves.

The glove placement means may be used as part of a glove stackingapparatus, comprising a recess in a work surface. The glove placementmeans is then arranged to deposit glove above the recess for stackingwithin the recess. The recess may have side walls for aligning glovesstacked one on another inside the recess and a movable floor which canbe lowered as said stack of gloves grows so the topmost glove in thestack of gloves is substantially level with the work surface, whereinthe apparatus comprises at least one movable flap adjacent an edge ofsaid recess for folding towards the recess a portion of a gloveoverlapping said edge of the recess.

The flap is preferably hinged adjacent the edge of the recess.

Gloves are preferably deposited at the recess such that a portion of theglove is contained by said recess and another portion of said gloveoverlaps an edge of said recess and lies on said at least one movableflap. The movable flap is then moved to fold towards the recess theportion of the glove that overlaps the edge of the recess so that theglove is contained by the recess. During this process, the flappreferably contacts the stack of gloves formed in the recess in order tohelp compress the stack of gloves.

The recess may be substantially square or rectangular. There may also bea pair of flaps on opposite side edges of the recess for foldingalternately inwards to the recess, portions of gloves overlappingalternately one or another of the opposite side edges of the recess.

The glove placement means may therefore be used in a method of stackinggloves using a glove stacking apparatus, comprising the steps of:

i) moving the movable floor proximate the level of the work surface;ii) placing a first glove to be stacked over the recess, with a firstcuff portion of said glove overlapping an edge of the recess;iii) placing a second glove to be stacked over the recess, with a secondcuff portion of said glove overlapping an edge of the recess;iv) lowering the recess floor as required to keep the top of the stackof gloves in the recess substantially level with the work surface;v) using at least one movable flap to fold over said first cuff portioninwards towards the recess, so that the first cuff portion is foldedover a finger portion of the second glove contained within the recess;andvi) repeating steps ii) to v) to build up a stack of interfolded gloveswithin the recess.

The packing recess may be used with at least one movable flap forfolding towards the recess a portion of a glove overlapping said edge ofthe recess.

The movable flap preferably has a surface that is permeable to air flowthrough said surface, the glove stacking apparatus including a source ofvacuum air pressure and means to apply said vacuum air pressure throughsaid permeable surface of the movable flap in order to pull saidoverlapping portion of said glove to the flap prior to folding of saidoverlapping portion.

The source of vacuum pressure is separate from the flap so that as theflap folds towards the recess, the application of the vacuum airpressure through the permeable surface is automatically released.

The means to apply said vacuum air pressure may comprise at least oneperforation in a work surface beneath the permeable surface of themovable flap, and most preferably comprises a plurality of suchperforations.

The source of vacuum pressure is preferably arranged to provide a steadyvacuum pressure. The application of the vacuum air pressure through thepermeable surface then depends on the degree of separation between themovable flap and the means to apply said vacuum air pressure throughsaid permeable surface of the movable flap. As the flap moves towardsthe recess, the vacuum pressure is therefore automatically released.

Preferably, the, or each, flap is arranged to fold towards the recesssuch that, in use, the flap contacts the stack of gloves formed in therecess in order to help compress the stack of gloves.

The permeable surface of the flap is preferably a mesh, this meshtherefore being permeable to the air flow.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will now be further described, by way of example only, andwith reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is perspective view of an apparatus for stacking ambidextrousgloves including a glove placement means for moving gloves to bestacked, according to a first preferred embodiment of the invention,showing how gloves are transported by a first conveying means, past amachine vision system towards a second conveying means to which glovesmay be transferred to reverse the handedness of the orientation of theglove with respect to a glove placement means;

FIGS. 2 and 3 are, respectively, side and top views of the apparatus ofFIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a first embodiment of a glove placementmeans having a glove manipulator for lifting gloves from the conveyorsand, if necessary, for rotating the orientation of the glove about avertical axis prior to depositing on a stack of gloves;

FIG. 5 is a side view of the glove manipulator of FIG. 4, showing how aglove is held electrostatically to a lowermost insulating surface of theglove manipulator;

FIG. 6 is a bottom view of the glove manipulator of FIG. 4, showing howthe glove is held flat against the insulating surface, which has anarray of perforations behind which is a ground plate to which the gloveis attracted;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a second embodiment of a glovemanipulator for lifting gloves from the conveyors in which the glovesheld against an array of insulating strands behind which is a groundplate to which the glove is attracted;

FIG. 8 is a view from beneath of the glove manipulator of FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a cross-section view of the glove manipulator, taken alongline IX-IX of FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is an enlarged view of a portion of the cross-section of FIG. 9labeled X;

FIG. 11 is a perspective view, partly cut-away, showing part of anapparatus for stacking ambidextrous gloves including a glove placementmeans for moving gloves to be stacked according to a second preferredembodiment of the invention, similar to the first but using a vacuum airsupply for transferring gloves to the second conveyor and for holdinggloves to the underside of a glove manipulator;

FIG. 12 is perspective view of the first and second conveyors of FIG. 11and an adjacent packing station prior to stacking of gloves by the gloveplacement means;

FIG. 13 is a perspective view of the packing station of FIG. 12 with theglove manipulator ready to deposit a first glove at the packing station;

FIG. 14 is a view of the glove manipulator of FIG. 12 after depositingof the first glove at the packing station, showing how a movable memberin the form of a plunger descends from beneath the glove manipulator topress a finger portion of the glove into a packing recess;

FIG. 15 shows the packing station of FIG. 14 when the glove manipulatorhas been withdrawn from the packing station to collect a second glove;

FIG. 16 shows the packing station of FIG. 15 after the glove manipulatorhas been withdrawn, with a cuff of the deposited glove extending beyondthe packing recess and lying over a first movable flap on one side ofthe packing recess;

FIG. 17 shows how, after the deposit of a second glove orientedoppositely with respect to the first glove, but with thumbs on the sameside of the packing recess, the first movable flap is rotated about apivot rod to fold the cuff of the first glove over the finger portion ofthe second glove;

FIG. 18 is perspective view showing how the apparatus for stackinggloves may be paired and how two of the glove placement means may bemounted on a frame from above; and

FIG. 19 is a top view of the paired apparatus for stacking gloves ofFIG. 18.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIGS. 1 to 3 show various views of a glove stacking apparatus 1 forstacking gloves with the thumbs in a desired orientation. The apparatuscomprises a first conveying means in the form of a first conveyor 2 anda second conveying means in the form of a second conveyor 4. Both thefirst and second conveyors have straight loops of belt 3, 5, with anupper surface 7 of the first conveyor 2 travelling in a first directionindicated by arrow 9. The second conveyor 4 lies atop the first conveyor2 with a lower portion 11 of the second conveyor belt 5 being opposed toa transfer portion 13 of the first conveyor belt 3, these portions 11,13 being separated by about 1 mm and moving at matched speeds in thesame direction 9 so that an upper surface 15 of the second belt 5 movesin a second direction 17 opposite to the first direction 9.

A supply of gloves 6 held within a bin 8 is brought to the vicinity ofan upstream end 19 of the first conveyor 2. The gloves 6 in the bin 8are not fully ordered but preferably have a cuff end 10 facing towardsan open side 12 of the bin 8, which is positioned above the uppersurface 7 of the first belt 3.

The gloves 6 in the bin are oriented with the glove fingers 14 and thumb16 facing generally in a direction parallel with the first direction ofmotion 9 of the first conveyor 2. A worker (not shown) may then reachinto the open side 12 of the bin 8 and get hold of a glove 6 by the cuff10 and pull the gloves in the second direction 17 one at a time onto theupper surface 7 of the first belt 3, such that the fingers drag alongthe first belt upper surface 7.

In doing this, the opposite motions of the gloves 6 and first belt 3will tend to pull the fingers 14 and thumb 16 of each glove flat withthe belt. In the embodiment of the invention, the gloves 6 aredisposable ambidextrous medical inspection gloves, although theinvention is applicable to other types of hygienic glove. It is notnecessary for the thumbs 16 to be positioned on either the right or theleft of the glove, as viewed in the direction of motion 9. A machinevision sensing device 20 under the control of a microprocessor (notshown) is used to capture from above an image of each glove 6A placed onthe upstream end 19 of the first belt 3. The machine vision sensingdevice 20 is not described or shown in detail but may include a cameraor other light sensing means, a source of illumination such as a flashlamp, one or more scanning or static laser beams or a light curtain.

The processor determines from the captured image if the thumb 16 is onthe left or right of the glove 6A and also determines if there is aproblem with the orientation of the glove, as may be the case if thefingers 14 or thumb 16 are not splayed outwards and are overlapping, orif the cuff 10 is over-folded or under-folded.

The gloves 6A then pass to a rejection region 22 of the apparatus. Thefirst belt 3 is a mesh fabric belt having holes of about 4 mm in size.The fabric preferably has insulating properties, for example beingformed from a PTFE fabric material. Beneath the rejection region 22 is avalve 23 connected to a source of compressed air (not shown) which underthe control of the processor sends a blast of air upwards and to oneside of the first belt 3 to eject a misaligned glove off and to one sideof the belt, where such rejected gloves are caught by a recycle bin (notshown) for subsequent recycling through the glove stacking apparatus 1.

If the gloves are to be stacked in a regular way, and if the gloves arerandomly placed on the first belt 3, with the thumb 16 either to theleft or the right relative to the direction of motion, then theprocessor will determine, on average, that 50% of the gloves are in acorrect orientation for stacking, and 50% are not. In the illustratedexample, one glove 6B has reached the vicinity of a downstream end 29 ofthe first conveyor 2. This glove has been determined by the processor tobe correctly oriented for stacking. Another glove 6C is shown on theupper surface of the second belt 5. This glove 6C was found by theprocessor to be in the incorrect orientation for stacking by theprocessor when on the first belt 3 and has been transferred from thetransfer portion 13 of the first belt 3 to the lower portion 11 of thesecond belt 5, prior to being conveyed by the loop of the second beltonto the upper surface 15 of the second conveyor 4. This operation hasthe effect of flipping the glove 6C through 180° around a horizontalaxis at right angles to the direction of motion 9 of the first conveyor2, such that the handedness of each of the gloves 6C transferred to thesecond conveyor 4 is reversed from a left handed orientation to a righthanded orientation or alternatively from a right handed orientation to aleft handed orientation as the second conveyor transports the gloves. Aswill become clear from the explanation below, this then positions theillustrated glove 6C in a correct orientation for stacking.

It should be noted that the first and second belts 3, 5 in the region11, 13 where these overlap move at the same speed and direction 9 withsynchronicity being maintained by a 1:1 drive belt and pulleyarrangement 27 connecting the first and second conveyors 2, 4.

The glove stacking apparatus 1 also comprises a glove placement means30, which is here an articulated robot arm 32 that extends away from afirst vertical axis pivot 34 towards a second vertical axis pivot 35 onwhich a glove manipulator 38 is pivotably mounted. In addition to beingpivotable about the second pivot 35, the manipulator has a vertical androtational axis movement mechanism 40 that extends downwards to anattractive lifting and depositing portion 42 of the glove manipulator38, a first and a second embodiment 42, 42′ of which using electrostaticattraction are illustrated in FIGS. 4 to 10 and 1 third embodiment ofwhich 142 using a vacuum, or negative pressure, supply is shown in FIGS.11 to 19.

As will be explained in more detail below, the glove manipulator 38moves the lifting and depositing portion 42, 42′ so that this is abovethe next glove to be stacked, and then lifts and moves this glove eitherfrom the first conveyor 2 or the second conveyor 4 and deposits this toone side of the downstream end 29 of the first belt 3 at a stackingstation 60, where the glove 6B, 6C is deposited for stacking.

The gloves 6C are transferred from the first to the second conveyors bymeans of a static electricity generator 25 comprising a staticgenerating bar positioned beneath the portion 13 of the first belt 3opposite the second belt 5. The charge passes through the air and holesin the first belt mesh to charge up the glove 6C to be transferred. Thesecond belt 5 is a mesh with an insulating outer surface and with aground plate (not shown) behind in the region where the glove istransferred. Gloves 6C once charged are therefore initiallyelectrostatically attracted to the second belt 5 and leave the firstbelt 3, which also has an insulating outer surface, to travel around theloop of the second belt 5 to reach the upper surface 15 of the secondconveyor 4. A second static charge electricity generator 33 comprising astatic generating bar positioned beneath the upper surface 15 of thesecond belt 5 then recharges the glove. The charge passes through theair and holes in the first belt mesh to re-charge up the glove 6C. Thereis no ground plate behind the mesh of the second belt in this region,and so the glove is free to be attracted to another ground surface,which as explained below is provided in the lifting and depositingportion 42, 42′.

The lifting and depositing portion 42, 42′ of the glove placement means30 is synchronized with the continuous motion of the belts 3, 5 andunder the control of the same processor registering the location andportion of each glove 6A by means of the machine vision system 20.Alternatively, it would be possible to have a second machine visionsystem (not shown) to register the position and of the gloves 6B, 6Cready for stacking. It should be noted that in the drawing, both gloves6B and 6C are shown for purposes of illustration only in position readyfor lifting the by the lifting and depositing portion 42, 42′. Becausethe belts 3, 5 move continuously at a constant speed, preferably about300 mm per second, in operation, only one of the illustrated gloves 6B,6C would be positioned ready for lifting at any one time.

The lifting and depositing portion 42, 42′ then moves into positionabove the glove 6B, 6C to be lifted. The lifting and depositing portionis rectangular, and is rotated by the movement mechanism 40 so that thelong axis of the rectangle is aligned with the long axis of the glove.If the long axis of the glove 6B, 6C is not aligned exactly with thelength of the belts 3, 5, then this is detected by the image sensingsystem 20 and the angle of the lifting and depositing portion 42, 42′ iscorrespondingly adjusted by the rotational axis movement mechanism 40 tomatch that of the glove prior to lifting the glove from the belt 3, 5.The movement of the belts 3, 5 is continuous so the arm 32 and glovemanipulator 38 match the movement of the glove 6B, 6C on the conveyor 2,4 while the vertical axis movement mechanism 40 drops the lifting anddepositing portion 42, 42′ on top of the glove.

As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the first embodiment of the lifting anddepositing portion 42 has a flat under surface 50, which is made from athin plate insulating material having an array of circular holes 52,behind which is an insulated ground plate 54. Although not visible inFIGS. 5 and 6, the ground plate 54 is covered over by a thin insulativesheet to prevent direct discharge from a charged glove to the groundplate.

The gloves 6B are transferred from the first conveyor to the lifting anddepositing portion by means of a static electricity generator 31comprising a static generating bar positioned beneath the surface of thefirst belt 5. The charge passes through the air and holes in the firstbelt mesh to charge up the glove 6B. As the lifting and depositingportion comes into proximity with the charged glove, the glove isattracted to the underside 50 of the lifting and depositing portion 42,which therefore acts as a glove lifting surface having an attractiveglove lifting portion.

As the lifting and depositing portion 42 comes into proximity with theglove 6B, 6C to be lifted, the charged glove is attracted to theinsulated ground plate 54 and therefore adheres to the outer platesurface 50.

The lifting and depositing portion 42 can then remove the glove 6B, 6Cfrom the belt 3, 5 and deposit the glove at the stacking station 60. Theglove is de-adhered from the lifting and depositing portion by movingthe ground plate 54 away from the outer insulative layer 50.Additionally, the lifting portion also contains an electrostaticgenerator 56, the location of which is indicated by dashed lines,aligned with corresponding holes in the outer plate 50 and ground plate54. This applies a charge one side of the glove which it has been foundcan help to collapse the glove and help the glove adhere better to thestack of glove being built up at the stacking station 60.

This ground plate is movable in a vertical direction within the liftingand depositing portion 42 and is spring biased to a downwards locationnearest the outer layer 50. Four pins or studs 58 project downwards fromthe ground plate through the outer layer 50. When the lifting anddepositing portion comes into contact with surfaces at the stackingstation 60, these pins are pressed upwards thereby lifting the groundplate and thereby lessening the attraction of the glove 6B, 6C to theground plate 54 whereupon the glove drops away from the lifting anddepositing portion. Although not illustrated, if needed, the manipulator30 may be connected to a source of compressed air which may be used tosend a blast of air through the holes 52 to dislodge the glove from theouter layer 50.

The second embodiment of electrostatic lifting and depositing portion42′ works in a similar manner to that described above. In thisembodiment, there is no outer layer, but rather a series of parallelinsulating threads or strands 50′, which serve to separate the glove 6B,6C from the ground plate 54′. FIG. 9 shows the static electricitygenerators 56′ within the lifting portion and the enlarged cross-sectionview of FIG. 10 shows the insulative layer 68 on the ground plate 54′.FIGS. 9 and 10 show schematically how the glove 6B, 6C is adheredagainst the parallel insulating threads or strands 50′. In this case,the ground plate 54′ acts as a glove lifting surface having anattractive glove lifting portion.

As with the first embodiment, the electrostatic lifting and depositingportion 42′ described above has four pins or studs 58′ that projectdownwards from the ground plate 54′ through the parallel insulatingthreads or strands 50′. When the lifting and depositing portion comesinto contact with surfaces at the stacking station 60, these pins arepressed upwards thereby lifting the ground plate and thereby lesseningthe attraction of the glove 6B, 6C to the ground plate 54′ whereupon theglove drops away from the lifting and depositing portion.

The packing station 60 shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 will now be described inmore detail. The packing station 60 has a packing sleeve 62, inset in awork surface 64. The packing sleeve 62 extends vertically and has asubstantially rectangular horizontal cross-section with rounded corners.The sleeve is formed from folded sheet metal, preferably stainlesssteel.

The packing sleeve 62 contains a movable base 70 that provides a floorsurface and that is slightly recessed to provide a shallow receptacle 75for receiving gloves being stacked. Prior to stacking of gloves, thefloor 70 is initially substantially at the level of the work surface 64or recessed slightly, for example recessed by between 10 mm to 25 mm. Asgloves are stacked on the floor, the movable base 70 drops so that thetopmost stacked glove remained substantially at, or just below, thelevel of the work surface 64. The next glove to be stacked then liesflat above the previously stacked gloves and surrounding work surface64.

The sleeve walls 65 and base 70 define a recess or receptacle thecross-section of which is less than the flattened extent of the gloves6B, 6C. Portions of the gloves to be stacked therefore overlap edges 67of the receptacle. In this example, the receptacle 75 is sized such thatwhen the glove fingers 14 are aligned within the receptacle, the glovecuffs 10 will initially extend beyond the bounds of the receptacle. Thepacking station therefore contains two movable and generally rectangularor square flaps 71, 73, arranged on opposite sides 78, 79 of thereceptacle 75 which initially lie flat or flush with the work surface64. Each flap is pivoted along a straight edge nearest the receptacle,with one of each pair being on adjacent sides of the receptacle so thatthe paired flaps can fold inwards the overlapping portions of each glovefrom adjacent sides.

In use, a glove is placed with the finger portions 14 being fully withinthe confines of the side walls 65 and with the thumb 16 being on theright hand side of the receptacle 75, as viewed in the first direction9. Optionally, there may be two additional movable and generallyrectangular or square flaps 72, 74 on a “thumb” side 77 of thereceptacle between the two opposite sides 78, 79. Each of these flaps72, 74 is pivoted along a straight edge nearest the receptacle. In theevent that the thumb 16 extends beyond the bounds of the receptacle, thethumb 16 may be first folded over by one of the flaps 72, which thenreturns to lie flush with the work surface 64.

The next glove is then positioned on top of the first glove, with thefinger portions 14 again being fully confined by the side walls butoriented at 180° to the first glove so that the cuffs of the first twogloves extend away from one another and overlap opposite sides 78, 79 ofthe receptacle 75. The thumb 16 is first folded over by one of the flaps74, which then returns to lie flush with the work surface 64.

The cuff 10 of the first glove to be placed on the work surface 64 isthen folded over the finger portion 14 of the second glove, using theother one 71 of the pair of flaps, which then returns to lie flush withthe work surface. The thumb 16 may then be first folded over by one ofthe flaps 72, which then returns to lie flush with the work surface.

If there are no flaps 72, 74 to fold in thumbs, then the thumbs willgradually fall into the receptacle 75 as the base floor 70 is lowered.

A third glove is then placed on the second glove, in the sameorientation as the first glove was placed.

The cuff of the second glove to be placed on the work surface 64 is thenfolded over the finger portion of the third glove, using the other one73 of the pair of flaps, which then returns to lie flush with the worksurface.

In this way an interfolded stack of gloves for cuff first dispensingfrom a box dispenser, can be built up automatically. During dispensing,the cuff of the glove being dispensed is gripped and removed from acontainer (not shown), and as the fingers of that glove are pulled outof the container, the fingers of that glove pull out the cuff of thenext glove for dispensing.

When sufficient gloves have been stacked in the receptacle, for examplebetween about 100 and 150 gloves, the stacking operation is paused, andthe receptacle 75 is removed from the packing station 60, eitherautomatically or manually, and an empty receptacle is put in place atthe packing station, and the operation described above is repeated.

Although not illustrated or described in detail herein, once the glovesare stacked in the receptacle, the stacked gloves may be packed in a boxdispenser by placing an open mouth of the box over the receptacle andmoving the base 70 upwards to press the stacked gloves into the openbox, which may then be closed and sealed.

FIGS. 11 to 17 show various views of a second embodiment of an apparatus101 for stacking ambidextrous gloves, according to a second preferredembodiment of the invention. In the second embodiment, features similarto those of the first embodiment are indicated by reference numeralsincremented by 100.

The second embodiment includes a machine vision sensing device (notshown) the same as that described above and has first and secondconveyors 102, 104 that present gloves to a glove placement means 130 inthe same manner as described above.

The second embodiment 101 differs from the first embodiment 1 in thatthere is no use of electrostatic transfer means. Instead, a vacuum airsupply (not show) is used in the transfer of gloves from the firstconveyor 102 to the second conveyor 104, and is also used to hold aglove to the underside 150 of a pneumatic lifting and depositing portion142 of the glove manipulator 138. In this example, the underside 150 ofthe lifting and depositing portion 142 acts as a glove lifting surfacehaving an attractive glove lifting portion. The vacuum air supply isconnected to an air outlet connection 80 at one end of a cylindricalroller 81 in the second conveyor 104 around which gloves 106C must passto reach the upper surface 115 of the second mesh belt 105. The roller81 is hollow (not shown) and has a number perforations 83 across itswidth and around its circumference so that when the hollow interior ofthe roller is connected to the air outlet 80 a vacuum air pressure atthe outlet causes air to be sucked through the perforations. This causesa glove 106C on the first mesh belt 103 to be transferred to the secondbelt 105 at the roller 81.

Prior to this transfer, the glove 106C is retained to the first meshbelt 103 by a similar vacuum supply that sucks air through the firstbelt to keep the glove 106C flat on the belt and so the glove can beconveyed without interference in a 1 mm to 2 mm gap 96 between the belts103, 105. When a glove is to be transferred to the second conveyor 104,the vacuum air supply to the first belt is stopped at the same time asthe vacuum air supply to the roller 81 is started. When a glove is notto be transferred to the second conveyor 104, the vacuum air supply tothe first belt 103 is maintained and the vacuum air supply to the roller81 is kept off, so that the glove is conveyed by the first conveyor 102past the transfer region between the first and second belts. In thiscase, to ensure that the glove clears the second belt 105, the vacuumair supply through the mesh of the first belt 103 is preferably providedunderneath and beyond the second conveyor 104. Not shown are valves anda control system linked to the processor for synchronizing the operationof the vacuum air supply to the first belt and the second belt rollerwith the rest of apparatus.

The lifting and depositing portion 142 has an internal pressure chamber84 which is supplied by one or two air hoses 85, 85′ connected toanother air supply via control valves (not shown) which can provideeither negative or positive air pressure relative to ambient airpressure. Air passes in to or out from the air chamber throughperforations 88 in a flat main plate 150 on the underside of the liftingand depositing portion 142. A downwardly acting piston 86 is provided ina portion of the main plate 150. The main plate is generally rectangularwith a long axis extending in the same directions as the direction ofmovement 109, 117 of the first and second conveyors 102, 104 when thelifting and depositing portion 142 is oriented to collect or depositgloves. The piston 86 has a flat lower plate 87 which is co-planar withthe surrounding main plate 150 when the piston is raised as shown inFIG. 13, and which extends below the plane of the main plate whenextended, as illustrated in FIGS. 11 and 15. Both the main plate 150 andthe piston plate 87 have a two-dimensional array of perforations 88, 89subject to the same air pressure from the air chamber 84.

If the gloves are to be stacked with the cuffs 110 all facing one way,then the piston 86 is preferably off-centre to one end of therectangular main plate 150, as shown in FIG. 11. If, however, the glovesare to be stacked with the cuffs alternating in opposite directions,then the piston is preferably centered in the main plate 150, as shownin FIGS. 13, 14 and 15. In both cases, when a glove is picked up by thelifting and depositing portion 142 a vacuum or negative pressure isapplied to the chamber 84 as the main plate 150 is brought down againsta glove on one of the conveyors. The air flow into the perforations thenpulls the glove off the conveyor and onto the under surface of thelifting and depositing portion 142. The glove is preferably picked upwith the finger portion 114 (which include the thumb 116), in contactwith the retracted piston lower plate 87 and with the cuff portionadhered by the vacuum to the adjacent main plate 150.

FIG. 12 shows the adjacent packing station 160 prior to stacking ofgloves by the glove placement means 130 in the packing receptacle 175.FIG. 13 shows the glove manipulator 138 positioned ready to deposit thefirst glove 106 in the packing receptacle 175, with a negative pressurebeing supplied to the internal chamber 84 through an air supply line 85.

FIG. 14 is a view of the glove manipulator 138 after depositing of thefirst glove at the packing station 160, showing how the piston 86descends from beneath the lifting and depositing portion 142 to press afinger portion 114, 116 of the glove 106 into the packing recess 175.When the lifting and depositing portion 142 is ready to deposit theglove 106, the vacuum from air line 85 is switched off and a positivepressure is supplied to the internal chamber 84 through air line 85′. Atthe same time, a negative pressure is continuously provided throughother air lines 90, 90′ (see FIG. 11) which lead to an array ofperforations 91 in a work surface 164 beneath two movable and generallyrectangular or square PTFE mesh flaps 171, 173, arranged on oppositesides 178, 179 of the receptacle 175. In this way, the glove 106 is bothpushed off and pulled from the lifting and depositing portion 142. Thispneumatic action of the apparatus helps to press the glove flat againstthe surfaces of the packing station 160. It will generally still be thecase, however, that air is trapped inside the glove, particularly theglove finger portion 114, 116.

Before the lifting and depositing head is withdrawn upwards, the piston86 is therefore actuated downwards by means of a pneumatically drivenactuator 92 to compress the finger portions of the glove 106. Thispressure helps to drive out air trapped inside the glove, therebycompressing and flattening the stack of gloves with a consequentreduction in the height of the stack of gloves. As this process isrepeated for each glove that is deposited, the multiple compressions ofthe growing stack of gloves helps to ensure that the flexible glovematerial does not rebound to let air creep back into the stack. Thefinal height of the complete stack of gloves is thereby minimized sothat the maximum number of interfolded gloves can be provided to the enduser within each completed pack. The end result is that it is possibleto pack 100 or more disposable interfolded nitrile or latex gloves ofstandard thickness (rated at 9 Newton's tear strength) inside a cardmaterial box having external dimensions of about 130 mm wide by 120 mmdeep by 130 mm high. The invention also permits 200 disposableinterfolded nitrile or latex gloves of thinner thickness (rated at 6Newton's tear strength) inside a card material box having externaldimensions of about 130 mm wide by 120 mm deep by 165 mm high. The cardmaterial may be cardboard, a plastic card material or any other suitabledisposable thin sheet material.

The compression of the growing stack of gloves by the piston is alsoused in an automatic way to control the downward movement of themoveable floor 170. Pressure from the piston 86 causes the floor 170 tomove down in a controlled manner during glove stacking such that thetopmost stacked glove remains substantially at, or just below, the levelof the work surface 164. Because the piston downward movement is fixed,and because the resulting downward movement of the floor is drivenpurely by the piston pressure, floor moves only as far as is necessaryto depending on the height of the glove stack.

The floor may be supported by an upwardly acting spring mechanism 97,with an associated ratchet mechanism permitting only downward movementof the floor under the piston pressure.

After this depositing and compressing stage, the lifting and depositingportion is lifted, as shown in FIG. 15, after which the glovemanipulator 138 is withdrawn from the packing station 160 to collect asecond glove 106′.

The flaps 171, 173 are then used to fold portions 110 of the second lastdeposited glove extending beyond the bounds of the recess in towards therecess so that the cuff of this glove is folded over the finger portionof the last glove to be deposited. It should be noted that because thevacuum supply is completely separate from the body of the flaps, thereis no need to cut or reduce the vacuum air supply to the perforations 91in the work surface 164. As soon as the flaps begin to move away fromthe perforations, the vacuum pressure through the mesh is automaticallyreduced and then cut so that the gloves are no longer held tightly tothe mesh surface of the flaps. Keeping the vacuum supply separate fromthe flaps is therefore a particularly helpful aspect of the inventionand provides several important benefits. First, the weight of each flap171, 173 is minimized and the construction is simplified as there is noneed to provide additional air flow channels to or within the body ofthe movable flap. Second, because the weight of each flap is minimized,it is easier to move the flap rapidly in either direction, therebyspeeding up the packing process and further simplifying the constructionof the apparatus. Thirdly, the vacuum airflow is automatically releasedwhen the flap 171, 173 moves away from the perforations 91, which avoidsthe need to switch the vacuum flow on and off or even to provide apositive air flow to the flaps to help dislodge the gloves from theflaps when these have moved fully over the recess. This is a realadvantage when gloves are being stacked at a rate of about one glove persecond. It is therefore preferred that vacuum pressure applied to theperforation is continuous and constant.

FIG. 16 shows the packing station 160 after the glove manipulator 138has been withdrawn, with a cuff 110 of the deposited glove 106 extendingbeyond the packing recess and over a first movable flap 171 on one side178 of the packing recess 175.

FIG. 17 shows how, after the deposit of a second glove 106′ orientedoppositely with respect to the first glove 106, but with thumbs 116,116′ on the same side of the packing recess 175, the first movable flap171 is rotated 93 about a pivot rod 94 to fold the cuff 110 of the firstglove over the finger portion 114′, 116′ of the second glove 106′. Theother flap 173 is mounted on a similar rod 94′ and moves in the same wayto fold over the cuff 110′ of the second glove after a third glove (notshown) has been deposited on the stack in the same orientation as thefirst glove 106. In this way, an interfolded stack of gloves is builtup, with the stack being repeatedly compressed by the piston 86 afterthe deposit of each glove.

FIGS. 18 and 19 show how the various embodiments of the apparatus 1, 101for stacking gloves described above may be paired into two side-by sideproduction lines and how two of the glove placement means 30, 130 may bemounted on a frame 95 from above. This arrangement is particularlyefficient, because a worker at the starting end 19 of the first conveyor2, 102 may use both hands at the same time to place a glove on each ofthe first conveyors.

The invention therefore provides a convenient apparatus and method forstacking gloves prior to packing in a dispensing box.

Modification and substitutions by one of ordinary skill in the art areconsidered to be within the scope of the present invention, which is notto be limited except by the allowed claims and their legal equivalents.

1. A glove stacking apparatus for lifting and depositing gloves to bestacked, comprising a lifting means for lifting each of said gloves,said lifting means including an attractive glove lifting surface,wherein the lifting means includes within the lifting surface a movablemember, the movable member being movable from a first position in whichthe movable member is substantially flush with the lifting surface to asecond position in which the movable member stands proud of the liftingsurface in order to help dislodge said lifted glove from the liftingsurface, and the movable member has a surface that is permeable to airflow through said surface, the glove lifting means including a source ofpositive air pressure and means to control the application of saidpositive air pressure through said permeable surface of the movablemember in order to control the dislodging of said lifted glove from theglove lifting surface.
 2. A glove stacking apparatus as claimed in claim1, comprising additionally a packing recess for receiving said gloves tobe stacked, the recess having a downwardly movable floor, and means formoving the floor downwardly so that the stack of gloves continues to beretained within the recess as gloves are added to the stack.
 3. A glovestacking apparatus as claimed in claim 2, in which the movable member isarranged to compress the stack of gloves within the recess.
 4. A glovestacking apparatus as claimed in claim 3, in which the means for movingthe floor downwardly is, in use, activated to move downwards by pressurefrom the movable member compressing the stack of gloves.
 5. A glovestacking apparatus as claimed claim 1, in which the movable member is adownwardly acting piston.
 6. (canceled)
 7. (canceled)
 8. A method oflifting and depositing gloves to be stacked using a glove stackingapparatus including an attractive glove lifting surface with a glovelifting portion and a movable member within the lifting surface, themovable member having a surface that is permeable to air flow throughsaid surface, the method comprising the steps of: moving the liftingsurface so that the lifting surface is above a glove to be lifted; withthe movable member in a first position in which the movable member issubstantially flush with the lifting surface, using the attractive glovelifting surface to pull said glove to the lifting portion; moving thelifting surface to a location where gloves are to be stacked; releasingthe glove from the attractive glove lifting surface; moving the movablemember to a second position in which the movable member stands proud ofthe lifting surface in order to help dislodge said lifted glove from thelifting surface; applying a positive air pressure through said permeablesurface of the movable member in order to control the dislodging of saidlifted glove from the glove lifting surface; and depositing saiddislodged glove at said location and repeating the preceding steps toform said stack of gloves.
 9. A method as claimed in claim 8, in whichthe glove lifting surface has a permeable glove lifting portion, themethod comprising the steps of: with the movable member in a firstposition in which the movable member is substantially flush with thelifting surface, applying a vacuum pressure through said permeable glovelifting portion to pull said glove to the lifting portion; moving thelifting surface to a location where gloves are to be stacked; releasingthe glove from the attractive glove lifting surface by releasing thevacuum pressure.
 10. A method as claimed in claim 8, in which themovable member is moved to said second position after said positive airpressure is applied through said permeable surface of the movablemember.
 11. A method as claimed in claim 8, using also a packing recess,said recess having a downwardly movable floor, in which the methodcomprises additionally the steps of: moving the floor downwardly as thestack of gloves is formed in order to retain the stack of gloves withinthe recess as gloves are added to the stack.
 12. A method as claimed inclaim 11, in which the method comprises the step of using the movablemember to compress air out of the stack of gloves after depositing eachglove on said stack.
 13. A method as claimed in claim 12, in which themethod comprises the step of using pressure from the movable member tomove the floor downwardly as air is compressed out of the stack ofgloves by the movable member.
 14. A glove stacking apparatus for forminga stack of gloves, comprising: a glove placement means for depositinggloves one of top of another for forming said stack of gloves, the gloveplacement means including a lifting surface with an attractive glovelifting portion and a movable member within the lifting surface, themovable member being movable from a first position in which the movablemember is substantially flush with the lifting surface to a secondposition in which the movable member stands proud of the lifting surfacein order to help dislodge said lifted glove from the lifting surface; apacking recess for receiving said gloves and for containing said stackas the stack is being formed, the packing recess having a downwardlymovable floor; and means for moving the floor downwardly so that thestack of gloves continues to be retained within the recess as gloves areadded to the stack; wherein the movable member is arranged, in use, tocompress the stack of gloves within the recess after each glove isdeposited.
 15. A glove stacking apparatus for forming a stack of glovesas claimed in claim 14, in which said compression of the stack of glovesby the movable member provides a motive force for the means for movingthe floor downwardly.
 16. A glove stacking apparatus as claimed in claim14, in which the means for moving the floor downwardly is, in use,activated to move downwards by pressure from the movable membercompressing the stack of gloves.
 17. A glove stacking apparatus asclaimed in claim 14, in which the means for moving the floor downwardlycomprises an upwardly acting spring mechanism, the floor being supportedby said spring mechanism.
 18. (canceled)
 19. (canceled)
 20. (canceled)21. A glove stacking apparatus as claimed in claim 14, in which theapparatus comprises at least one movable flap adjacent an edge of saidrecess for folding towards the recess a portion of a glove overlappingsaid edge of the recess, the, or each, flap being arranged to foldtowards the recess such that, in use, the flap contacts the stack ofgloves formed in the recess in order to help compress the stack ofgloves.
 22. (canceled)
 23. (canceled)
 24. A method of forming a stack ofgloves using a glove stacking apparatus comprising a glove placementmeans having an attractive lifting surface, a movable member within thelifting surface, the movable member being movable from a first positionin which the movable member is substantially flush with the liftingsurface to a second position in which the movable member stands proud ofthe lifting surface and a packing recess, said recess having adownwardly movable floor, the method comprising the steps of: using theattractive lifting surface of the glove placement means to lift anddeposit gloves one on top of another to form said stack of gloves withinthe recess; prior to depositing said gloves moving the movable memberfrom said first position to said second position in order to helpdislodge said gloves from said attractive lifting surface; moving thefloor downwardly as the stack of gloves is formed in order to retain thestack of gloves within the recess as gloves are added to the stack; andusing the movable member to compress air out of the stack of glovesafter depositing each glove on said stack.
 25. A method as claimed inclaim 24, in which the method comprises the step of using pressure fromthe movable member to move the floor downwardly as the stack of glovesis compressed by the movable member.
 26. A method as claimed in claim24, in which the apparatus comprises at least one movable flap adjacentan edge of said recess, the method comprising the steps of: depositing aglove at said recess such that a portion of the glove is contained bysaid recess and another portion of said glove overlaps an edge of saidrecess and lies on said at least one movable flap; moving said at leastone movable flap to fold towards the recess said portion of said gloveoverlapping said edge of the recess so that said glove is contained bysaid recess; and contacting the flap with the stack of gloves formed inthe recess in order to help compress the stack of gloves.
 27. A methodas claimed in any of claim 24, the movable member having a surface thatis permeable to air flow through said surface, the method comprising thesteps of: applying a positive air pressure through said permeablesurface of the movable member in order to control the dislodging of saidlifted glove from the glove lifting surface.